Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1934 on and old-book passages.
The Como post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Como’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Como yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Its first post office opened in 1840. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 567 to 528 (-7%).
Passages that mention Como, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The first settlement made in the territory now comprising the township of Hopkins was made by Jason Hopkins and Isaac H. Brittell, where the village of Como now stands, in 1835. In the autumn of 1832, as the troops which had been engaged in the Blackhawk War were returning to their homes, Mr. Hopkins, with a party, came to Rock river, and in coasting along its banks came to the site of the present village of Como. Being impressed with the beauty of the place, he made a claim covering the whole tract, known in pioneer parlance as a " jack-knife claim," by cutting his name in the bark of trees.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
When Gait was platted in 1855, and the railroad came through, the death knell of Como, over a mile south, was rung. So near, and yet so far. A depot was erected, and various business concerns sprang up, some of which have since subsided. The elevator and lumber yard remain. The Cheese company was started in 1873 with a capital of $3,100 and a main building and addition. For a few years sixty thousand pounds of cheese were made annually. William Pratt was president, and Robert A. Gait treasurer. It ceased operations long ago. An account of the Gait family
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settler in what is now Montmorency was Asa Scott, who came with his father, Jesse Scott, from Morgan county, Ohio, and landed at Como, June 1, 1839. He remained at Como until 1847, when he selected a farm in section 7, township 20, range 7 east of the 4th Principal Meridian, now the township of Montmorency. For nearly five years he was the only settler between Rock and Green rivers in that part of Whiteside county. In 1852, S.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first school taught in the township was at Round Grove, in 1840, Miss Higley being the teacher. The first school-house was built at Como in 1842, the funds for the purpose being raised by subscription among the inhabitants. Now there are six good school-houses in the township, those at Como, Galt and Empire being large and commodious structures.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Como. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Como.
Nobody well known was born in Como itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Como post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
